About Me
Charles Olney, Assistant Professor of Constitutional Law and Judicial Politics at the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley (academic website). This is a blog about music, politics, and the law. I also write about women’s soccer at Backline Soccer and Stars and Stripes FC.
Twitter: @dr_olney
Soundcloud: olneyce
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Recent Posts
Greatest Hits
- Beatles from worst to first
- Top 25 albums of the decade
- Top 50 songs of the decade
- Top 10 Bruce Springsteen songs
- Top 10 Modest Mouse songs
- Top 10 Tom Petty songs
- Top 10 Carissa's Wierd songs
- Top 10 Paul Simon songs
- Top 10 Bob Dylan songs
- Top 10 breakup songs
- Top 20 albums of 2005
- Top 30 albums of 2006
- Top 40 songs of 2006
- Top 25 albums of 2007
- Top 40 songs of 2007
- Top 25 albums of 2008
- Top 40 songs of 2008
- Top 30 albums of 2009
- Top 40 songs of 2009
- Top 25 albums of 2010
- Top 40 songs of 2010
- Top 15 albums of 2011
- Top 40 songs of 2011
- Top 20 albums of 2012
- Top 40 songs of 2012
- Top 30 albums of 2013
- Top 50 songs of 2013
- Top 25 albums of 2014
- Top 50 songs of 2014
- Top 30 albums of 2015
- Top 50 songs of 2015
- Top 15 albums of 2016
- Top 40 songs of 2016
- Top 25 albums of 2017
- Top 50 songs of 2017
- Top 30 albums of 2018
- Top 50 songs of 2018
Music links
- Hype Machine
- elbo.ws
- Music for Kids Who Can't Read Good
- Can you see the sunset from the southside?
- Hits in the Car
- A Certain Romance
- Herohill
- Speed of Dark
- Lost in your Inbox
- Vague Space
- Skatterbrain
- I Guess I'm Floating
- Largehearted Boy
- Neon Gold
- Another Form of Relief
- Cover Lay Down
- The Monsters Under the Bed Are Not Real
- Yellow Stereo
- Quick Before It Melts
- Knox Road
- Sand is Overrated
- Shake Your Fist
Recent Comments
- my blog on Top 20 Albums of 2005
- Heather on The Beatles from worst to first
- Documentcmh on Review: Restorations – LP5000
- bukauser on With four worn out limbs and not one love song
- Universalxqa on Review: Restorations – LP5000
Archives
Meta
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Tag Archives: 50 states
50 songs for 50 states: Ohio
After some slim pickings last time, the options are bountiful here. Just look at the songs with the title “Ohio.” You’ve got CSNY’s response to the Kent State massacre, Modest Mouse’s off-kilter take on traveling the highways across the nation, … Continue reading
50 songs for 50 states: North Dakota
I’ve been dreading North Dakota for awhile now, hoping that I’d be able to turn something up. I’ve searched Spotify lists of songs with Dakota in the title, trolled lists of ‘great North Dakota songs,’ and cast about fruitlessly on … Continue reading
50 songs for 50 states: North Carolina
There’s a surprisingly rich vein of North Carolina songs, particularly given how sparse the options are for their similarly-named neighbor to the south. Especially since the vast majority of ‘Carolina’ songs are really about the northern version. You can start … Continue reading
50 songs for 50 states: New York
Picking one song for New York is an impossible task. There are probably a couple dozen that deserve the honor, with all-time classics from the likes of LCD Soundsystem, Nas, Paul Simon, They Might Be Giants (via Cub), Lou Reed, … Continue reading
50 songs for 50 states: New Mexico
Plenty of decent options for New Mexico, but no standouts. I gave serious thought to two old titans–Johnny Cash and Waylon Jennings–but neither of their treatments really struck to the core of the state. To me, New Mexico is defined … Continue reading
50 songs for 50 states: New Jersey
More than any other state, New Jersey poses a challenge of identifying what exactly determines whether a song is ‘about’ a state. Is Thunder Road about Jersey? Nothing explicitly marks it that way, but we all know that’s where it’s … Continue reading
50 songs for 50 states: New Hampshire
The only real question for New Hampshire was which song to pick from Okkervil River’s Silver Gymnasium. In the end, I chose Black Nemo. It isn’t really a song ‘about New Hampshire’ in some general sense. But it is a song … Continue reading
50 songs for 50 states: Nevada
There is an obvious pick I’m leaving on the board here. And I adore Elvis as much as the next fellow. But come on, I’m not picking Viva Las Vegas. I’m not even going to pick the (very good) Dead Kennedys … Continue reading
50 songs for 50 states: Nebraska
Nebraska – Bruce Springsteen The whole album is a classic, of course, but this song is arguably the hardest-hitting of the bunch. It’s not my favorite track on Nebraska, by any means, but it’s the one that defines the entire enterprise. Springsteen … Continue reading
50 songs for 50 states: Montana
What I learned from looking through my options for Montana is that there are a truly disproportionate number of songs about Montana which explore the following theme: “I’m lonely because my baby left me, but at least Montana is beautiful.” … Continue reading